Mary Talbot
Lady Mary Josephine Talbot, née Crawley, (born 1891) is the eldest daughter of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham. and his American heiress wife [[Cora Crawley|Cora Crawley (née Levinson)]], as well as the mother of the current heir of Grantham, George, whom she had with her late husband Matthew Crawley. Mary has two younger sisters, Lady Edith Crawley and Lady Sybil Branson, who later died in 1920 from complications following childbirth. A potential brother was miscarried in 1914. Through Sybil, she is the sister-in-law of Tom Branson and the aunt and godmother of Sybil "Sybbie" Branson and the aunt of her sister Edith's illegitemate daughter, Marigold. She is also the granddaughter of the late earl of Grantham and Violet Crawley (through whom she is linked to the MacClare Family) and of Isidore and Martha Levinson. In August 1925, she and Henry Talbot married at the St. Michael and All Angels Church. Biography |-|Series 1= 1912-14 The news of the deaths of her two cousins, James and Patrick, is a shock to her because it disrupts the family's strategy for dealing with the entail. The entail requires that the family's estate, incorporating her mother's large marriage settlement, along with the title, to pass to male heirs only. The family had arranged that Mary would marry Patrick, second in line to the title after James, but Mary did not have strong feelings for him and questions whether she must even wear black mourning clothes. Mary's parents and grandmother focus on finding suitors for Mary, including the Duke of Crowborough, Evelyn Napier, and Anthony Strallan. She herself is seduced by a visitor to the house, Napier's friend Ottoman attaché Kemal Pamuk, who suddenly dies in her bed. Her infuriated mother and head housemaid Anna help her carry his body out of her room and back to his in the bachelor's corridor in order to try to prevent a public scandal that would ruin her marriage prospects. Mary's relationship with the new heir, her distant cousin Matthew Crawley begins coldly as she overhears him complaining to his mother that he expects the family will "push" the daughters on him. She refuses to acknowledge him as the new heir, declaring that he was "not one of us" and could "barely hold a knife properly". Over time, however, the pair grow closer and a romance develops. In 1914, Matthew asks Mary to marry him, but she is cautious and says she won't give him an answer until the end of the London Season in August. However her mother becomes pregnant, and if the baby is a boy, he will inherit the title instead of Matthew, so Mary refuses to give Matthew an answer, on the advice of her aunt, Lady Rosamund. Another reason for her hesitancy was that she feels she would have to tell Matthew about the one-night "fling" with Pamuk. Heartbroken and angered by her supposed motive, Matthew withdraws his proposal and decides to leave Downton but war breaks out and he joins the British Army. |-|Series 2= 1916-19 While Matthew is away, Mary becomes engaged to Richard Carlisle, a wealthy newspaper magnate who, after Mary's confession and request for his assistance, promises to help keep the Pamuk affair under wraps. They plan to marry in July 1919, after the marriage of Matthew and his new fiancée Lavinia Swire, and to move to a neighboring, stately home that Sir Richard plans to buy. After Lavinia's death, it becomes clear that Matthew and Mary continue to have strong feelings for one other. 2011 Christmas Special Her relationship with Sir Richard deteriorates and her father, in particular, becomes concerned that she would not be happy with the marriage even if it meant wealth and status. In 1920, Mary breaks off the engagement with Sir Richard and initially agrees to visit her mother's family in America to wait out the Pamuk scandal (as Carlisle threatens to, but does not, publish in retaliation). Soon after, Matthew proposes to her again, on a bended knee, and the pair become happily engaged. |-|Series 3= 1920 The couple, after a brief moment of doubt the night before the wedding, happily marry in 1920 and take their honeymoon in France. The doubt came after Mary learned from her father he had lost so much money he was going to lose Downton, and that Matthew might be the heir to Reggie Swire's huge fortune. Mary felt if he inherited then Downton could be saved, but Matthew insisted he could not inherit it because he still blamed himself for Lavinia's death. When it came to light Lavinia wrote to her father telling him the whole story and that Reggie respected him still, Matthew refused to believe it, so Mary questioned the servants and learned Lavinia had indeed written to her father (Daisy Mason had posted it). Matthew then accepted it, investing in Downton and saving it. After Sybil and her husband, former chauffeur Tom Branson, were exiled from Ireland, Sybil went into labor. Mary visited her beforehand, where Sybil mentioned again Tom's wish for the baby to be Catholic like himself and how she realized the baby's christening would have to take place at Downton now instead of Dublin. Mary insisted to Sybil she did not have to accept this, as it was her baby too. But Sybil told her she did not mind, that she did not object to Catholic traditions, and that she loved Tom and wanted this for him. Mary then promised to fight their corner. Like the rest of the family, Mary was delighted at the birth of Sybil's daughter, then utterly heartbroken when her beloved sister died soon after. She gave her a final kiss and said "Goodbye my darling." Keeping her promise to Sybil, Mary supported Tom against her father to baptize her niece and goddaughter, Sybbie, Catholic. She attended Sybbie's christening with the rest of the family. She also begins to support Matthew's plans for modernizing Downton, which her father initially opposes. While she and Matthew are intent on having children, it is hinted they may be having reproductive issues. Mary and Matthew meet by coincidence at a reproductive health clinic run by Dr Ryder, where Mary reveals she underwent a small and successful operation in order to strengthen their chances of conceiving. Despite previous tension between them, the series ends with them happily reaffirming their love for each other. 2012 Christmas Special In September 1921, an eight-month pregnant Mary travels to Duneagle Castle in Scotland with the family. Branson stayed behind because he was not invited, something that doesn't concern him. After the ball, Mary regrets dancing and tells Matthew that she's returning to Downton the next day. Matthew volunteers to accompany her, but Mary insists that he stay and enjoy the last few days of their trip. The next day, when Mary steps off the train, she tells Anna to take her to the hospital and notify her husband that she has begun labour. The Crawley family leaves Scotland at once, and Matthew visits Mary at the hospital as soon as he can make it. Mary has given birth to a son and heir. Matthew then says he "feels like I swallowed fireworks" and tells Mary that he loves her more with each passing day and that she'll be an excellent mother. Matthew then drives back to Downton to tell the family they can now visit his son. As Matthew is driving at what appears to be a fast pace, he doesn't see another automobile driving around the corner. The car hits him, and Matthew and his car are pushed off the road onto the bottom of a small slope. The other driver comes out to help, but sees a dead Matthew, pale and bleeding from his injuries. The episode ends on Mary holding her son, smiling, blissfully unaware that her husband and father of her child is dead. |-|Series 4= 1922 Six months after the death of Matthew, Mary is still struggling to come to terms with her loss, and she is very cold towards everyone. She doesn't appear to have a close relationship with her son George, who she prefers to leave in the care of the nannies, calling him a "poor little orphan". She refuses to wear anything other than black when Anna suggests a lilac outfit and when walking down the stairs, she stops when she sees and remembers the place where she and Matthew once kissed. She also has a rather awkward conversation with her sister Edith on the stairs when Mary realises it was Valentines Day and asks Edith what her plans are for the day, saying she hopes she has a good time. Although many of her family members, including the also widowed Tom Branson and Mr Carson, attempt to help Mary move on, she ignores and dismisses them. Tom feels that Mary needs to find something to fight for and that this should be, as George's guardian, the protection of his inheritance as the next heir to Downton Abbey estate. Her father, Lord Grantham refuses Tom's suggestion, claiming many times that they should not bother her with such troubles. He thinks that since Matthew appears to have left no will and assumes he is to take care of George's share in the estate, then Mary doesn't really have any say. On one occasion, she gets a little angry with Mr Carson because she didn't feel it was his place to tell her what she should do. It goes from bad to worst at the dinner table that night, when her mother, grandmother and Tom try to encourage Mary to be more involved in the running of Downton to which her father tries to again, protect Mary. She gets upset and upon breaking into tears, tells everyone to leave her alone. She leaves the dinner table and returns to her room. It isn't until her grandmother, Violet Crawley, has a talk with Mary that she starts to come to terms with Matthew's death. She tells her grandmother she feels she has become the cold person she used to be and that perhaps she was only kind in Matthew's imagination. She tells her grandmother she doesn't understand why she has come to talk to her, to which she replies that it because she is her grandmother and she loves her. She is told she must choose between life or death, to which Mary begins to understand that she must choose life. As she begins her attempt to move on, she pays a visit to Mr Carson to apologise for the way she spoke to him the day before. She breaks down in front of him, telling him she doesn't know how to move on. He comforts her, telling her she is a strong woman and she will find a way. Later on, Mary decides to wear a lilac dress rather than a black dress to attend a luncheon to discuss the running of Downton as she finally begins to move on. Shortly after, a box containing Matthew's last things from his office is sent to Downton. Mr Carson decided the box should best be sent to Robert first, in case it upsets Mary. Robert begins to look into the box, and finds within a book a letter that Matthew had wrote shortly before the trip to Scotland. The letter states what he would had wanted in the event of his death, which Matthew had thought was the best thing to do now that Mary was pregnant. Robert hesitates to give it Mary first but he is persuaded otherwise when Violet says it is wrong to keep it from her. Matthew says in the letter he wishes Mary to be his sole heiress. He also states that although it is not properly documented, he intended after this trip for his wishes to be properly written up. However, Robert was still determined that it was not a will and that he will have Murray look at the document. It is later determined that the letter is a will of sorts, and will stand as one. There were two witnesses to Matthew writing the will and it clearly states that Matthew was sure of Mary being his heiress. It is clear at first that Robert was not too happy at the thought of sharing Downton with Mary. He kept telling Mary that it couldn't have been a proper will. At dinner, she innocently tells everyone she would like her opinions to be heard in the event that the letter is seen as a will. Robert finds himself slightly annoyed at the prospect and hastily informs Mary of the many things she will have to have an opinion on, which makes Mary remark he must have some sort of point and Cora remark that he trying to say a woman's place is in the home. In light of this, Violet invites Mary and Tom to her home to have a word wih them. She tells them she would like Tom to be Mary's "instructor" and help her to understand how Downton is run, such as the crops on the farms. Tom and Mary happily accept this prospect. Tom later takes Mary out to discuss how Downton is run. They talk about the death duties and how much tax there will be to pay. Tom tells Mary that her father intends to sell part of the land to pay it off in one lump. They both determine that they disagree with Robert's idea. When Robert finally accepts Matthew's letter is a will, Mary tells Robert of her disagreement with his plan to sell part of the land, to his dismay. Mary and Tom work together more on the estate, even working on a new venture into pig farming. She meets an old childhood friend, Tony Foyle, now Lord Gillingham, who pursues her. She turns him down as she has not yet moved on from Matthew. But he gets a kiss out of her, and later when she learns of his engagement she secretly feels regret. She then reunites with her old suitor Evelyn Napier, but does not get along well with his boss Charles Blake. She believes he cares not for the landowners. But after some new pigs arrived in poor condition she and Blake both willingly get dirty in order to help them, after which she and Blake start to respect each other more (he originally believed she was unwilling to work for Downton), and he develops feelings for her himself. Lord Gillingham returns, having broken off his engagement as he is still determined to win her over. Her family takes note of her numerous suitors. Mary is the first to know Rose has entered a relationship with Jack Ross. After Rose reveals her plans to marry him, she goes to London to speak to Ross himself. He impresses her with his honesty and love for Rose, but also in his decision to spare Rose pain from society by calling it off. She later speaks to Rose at the bazaar. She is also the second person to learn from Mrs Hughes about what happened to Anna. Anna then reveals to Mary who the culprit was, and Mary feels she has to do something. So she meets with Lord Gillingham and insists that he fire his valet Green without telling him why. He later informs her of Green's death at the bazaar. |-|Series 5= 1924 Mary receives a visit from Lord Gillingham who proposes they become lovers. She agrees to his offer and they arrange for a secret rendezvous in Liverpool. Mary tells her family she will instead be spending time with a friend, Annabelle Portsmouth. She tells Blake she is sorry if she has hurt him, but he insists he is happy for her. He asks only that she be certain she is making the right choice because he feels that she is far smarter than Lord Gillingham. Anna is very nervous about Mary's decision, especially when Mary has her go to a pharmacy to purchase items for her to prevent pregnancy. After enjoying themselves, they are spotted by Spratt, Violet's butler. He informs Violet who immediately comes up with an excuse to explain their being in Liverpool. However Violet has Mary come to her house and confront her with what she knows. Mary insists she is being modern and that there is nothing wrong with it, but Violet insists that it is and that Mary has been seduced. Mary immediately claims that they want to set a date but nothing has been settled. Violet urges her to make a decision. But Mary begins to regret what she has done and later confides to Tom she feels she has made the wrong choice, because she now thinks she and Gillingham have very little in common. She then breaks up with him much to is dismay, but Charles Blake schemes to get Lord Gillingham back with his former fiancee Mabel Lane Fox. After Tom begins to voice his political opinions again, Mary remarks that she feels Tom is changing back into who he is, which she admits will be a bad thing for the family but not for Tom. She later tells Tom though she does not approve of his friendship with Sarah Bunting, who had helped begin to revive his political views, and that she still does not want him to leave Downton. She later visits a fake French hairdresser in York and gets a bob cut from him which she shows off to her family. Unlike everyone else, Mary did not care about Edith's disappearance and along with Robert objected to Edith adopting Marigold without knowing Edith's predicament. She later along with her family, go to London for their cousin Rose's marriage to Atticus Aldridge. She expresses sadness to Tom's leaving Downton Abbey to start a new life in America as well as Rose's departure to New York but nonetheless says her farewells to them. At Christmas, she and her family visit Brancaster Castle for the house season hosted by the Aldridge family. She notices the butler Stowell being very rude to Tom so she asks Barrow to get a trick out of his sleeve in order to get Stowell into trouble which he did. She later finds out the sordid past of Lord Sinderby but along with Rose and her father, keep it secret. She later meets and dances with acquaintance Henry Talbot and is rather taken with his fancy car. At Downton there is a splendid Christmas party where Mary along with her son George as well as To, Sybbie, Edith and Marigold decorate the tree. |-|Series 6= 1925 Mary is fox hunting with Robert and some people from the village. After the fox hunt is done, she notices Rita Bevan, but Mary does not recognize her while Bevan says that she does. Bevan reveals her knowledge of her night with Lord Gillingham, and issues an ultimatum to Mary. Mary must give Bevan £1000 pounds, or she would go to the newspapers regarding her night with Gillingham. Mary confides this to Anna, who reaffirms her feelings that she shouldn't give into blackmail. Bevan makes another appearance, and barges into Mary's room, and restates her threats. Mary again refuses. Bevan makes a third appearance, this time going to Robert to tell him about her night with Lord Gillingham. Robert saves Mary, Lord Gillingham, and Lady Gillingham from national embarrassment by giving Bevan £50 pounds for her silence, and if she refuses the offer, Robert would go to the police and the latter would convict Bevan for blackmail. Mary insists that the butler Carson should get married at Downton's Great Hall or whichever room he and Mrs Hughes choose to hold their wedding reception at but Mrs Hughes has different ideas. Later Mary along with her son George, Marigold and Cora visit the Drewe's farm to view the pigs in order to display them at the Fat Stock Moulton show. They then see Mrs Drewe who has an emotional reunion with Marigold whom she has clearly not got over. But Cora insists they all go back to the house for luncheon so as to avoid any problems. Mary wins the 1st place at the Fat Stock show but later when Marigold goes missing, Mary holds her son George and wonders why Mrs Drewe took Marigold to Yew Tree Farm but she doesn't get any more suspicious. When Mary hears about Anna inability to conceive a child, she books an appointment with Dr Ryder whom she went to years ago in order to somehow correct Anna's problem and plus do some shopping. Mary continues to insist that Carson and Mrs Hughes hold their reception in the Great Hall, but later concedes to Mrs Hughes when she wants it in the schoolhouse. Mary's old acquaintance from Brancaster Castle, Henry Talbot, visits Downton with his aunt Lady Shackleton. She, Talbot, and Tom exchange chat, and Talbot gives Mary his card and Mary and Talbot agree to arrange something when Mary is next in London. Gwen Harding, formerly Gwen Dawson, visits Downton along with her husband, John Harding. Mary is sure that she recognizes Gwen, she cannot seem to remember her name. When Gwen's identity is revealed, the family and Gwen fondly discuss Lady Sybil. When Gwen leaves, Anna prepares Mary for her dinner, however she almost has a miscarriage. Anna and Mary rush to London, and Dr Ryder preforms his operation just in time to save Anna's baby. When Anna is recovering, Mary and Talbot arrange to have dinner at the Royal Automobile Club. Mary and Tom watches a car race between Henry Talbot and Charlie Rogers. After that, Mary, Talbot, and Tom have a drink in a pub where they become more friendly with each other. When Neville Chamberlain visits Downton for dinner, Mary watches horrified along with everyone in the room as Robert vomits blood. Mary rushes her father to the hospital along with Cora and Edith. Mary's suspicions arise when she overhears Violet and Cora discuss a close connection between Edith and Marigold. Mary and Tom later have dinner with Henry Talbot at the Criterion where Charlie Rogers, Evelyn Napier, Lady Anne Acland and another lady are in attendance. After the dinner is over, Henru offers to walk Mary home and Mary reveals to him her distaste of cars comes from Matthew's death, because he was killed in a car crash. Henry insists she give cars a second chance and suddenly it starts raining. Mary and Henry retreat into a nearby tunnel and Henry kisses Mary and admits his feelings for her, however Mary feels their relationship is going rather faster than she'd expected. She and Tom later open Downton Abbey to village visitors in order to raise money for the hospital. Mary along with her family, as well as Bertie Pelham and Edith's colleague Laura Edmunds attend a car race at Brooklands to see Henry Talbot race along with his friend Charlie Rogers. But as they are racing, Mary feels that she finds it boring and questions the point of racing but however the race is put to an apparent stop because of Charlie Rogers unfortunate death from a swerving car, which suddenly reminded Mary of what had happened to Matthew. She calls Charlie Rogers' death to be a bloody and wasted business which could have been prevented. She then breaks off her relationship with Talbot, much to his dismay and says that they can never be together although he protests she ultimately says no. Tom is disappointed with Mary for breaking her relationship with Talbot, and invites Talbot to Downton in hopes of him and Mary reconciling. This backfires, with Mary only being driven further from Talbot. Meanwhile, Mary learns from Tom about Marigold's true parentage, and "accidentally" corners Edith into telling Edith fiancée, Bertie Pelham, the new and 7th Marquess of Hexham. Mary and Edith than have a huge argument, where Edith calls Mary a b*tch twice, and calls her "nasty, jealous, scheming" and "stuck-up." Tom chastises Mary for ruining Edith's happiness, calls Mary a bully and a coward, and writes to Violet and requests that she convince Mary to reconcile with Edith and to marry Talbot. Mary also pours her heart out, saying that she does not to have another husband that dies in a car-crash, and that she remembered looking at Charlie Rogers' car burning hoping that Talbot was not dead. Violet comforts her, and successfully persuades her to reconcile with Talbot and Edith. Mary then visits Matthew's grave, and begs his forgiveness and acceptance that she is ready to marry another man. Mary then invites Talbot to Downton, and they become re-engaged, and they are married in a small wedding the following Saturday. Mary also reconciles with Edith.